Cardano has marked its seventh anniversary, with Input Output Global (IOG), its developer, celebrating the occasion on X (formerly Twitter). In a post, IOG wrote: “Happy birthday, Cardano. 7 years. Millions of transactions. Over a thousand projects. One unstoppable community.” The tweet featured a short video highlighting Cardano’s key milestones and progress since its inception.
Cardano’s Growth Since 2017
Launched in 2017, Cardano stands as the first blockchain platform built on peer-reviewed research, utilizing evidence-based methods. It operates as a proof-of-stake (PoS) blockchain, with its growth reflecting increasing adoption and development. To date, Cardano has processed 95.6 million transactions, underscoring the platform’s growing popularity.
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The blockchain’s ecosystem has expanded significantly, now boasting 74,700 Plutus scripts, which power Cardano’s smart contracts, and 1.33 million delegated wallets, indicating a healthy staking environment. These numbers highlight the robust and evolving network.
Cardano’s achievements extend beyond transactions. The network has produced 226 research papers, supporting its technical foundation. Moreover, 1,373 projects are actively developing on the Cardano blockchain. The community-driven Catalyst funding rounds have supported over 1,800 innovative ideas through 12 separate rounds, driving forward new advancements. A recent video shared by IOG also celebrated Cardano’s global influence, including events hosted worldwide and Cardano’s presence during the summit of Mount Everest.
Notable Hard Forks in Cardano’s Evolution
Cardano’s evolution has seen several hard forks, which introduced key upgrades. The Shelley hard fork on July 29, 2020, brought staking and decentralized features, moving Cardano from a federated system to a decentralized one.
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On March 1, 2021, the Mary hard fork enabled users to create and transact with custom tokens. Then, on September 12, 2021, the Alonzo hard fork activated smart contract functionality, allowing decentralized applications (dApps) to launch on the network. The Vasil hard fork, implemented on September 22, 2022, enhanced the network’s scalability and performance. Most recently, the Chang hard fork, launched on September 1, 2024, introduced the first decentralized governance features, marking the start of the Conway era.
This update enables parameter changes and hard fork initiations through community governance. Cardano’s journey over the past seven years reflects its continuous innovation and global impact.
